The End of A Rebellion
by calypso3266
Summary: Magali has fought in the Rebellion for as long as long as she can remember, and when the rebel's efforts are blown to dust, she gets chosen to participate in the first ever Hunger Games. R&R!
1. Chapter 1 Rebels

**This is about the first Hunger Games from Magali's POV! Please review and tell me what you think. It's my first story! Enjoy!**

When I wake up, there is something different about it. About the air. It's still. Almost like its resting after wasting all its energy. Then I remember. Yesterday District 13 was destroyed. And with it went the whole uprising. Almost everybody in Panem had been fighting the greedy and controlling Capitol, including my family and friends. We were part of the rebellion and it had actually looked like we were winning. The jabber jays, a muttation created to repeat rebel conversations, had been turned against the Capitol, and we were encroaching on enemy territory.

I guess it wasn't enough, because District 13 is in ruins, crushed like a grape. And the rest of Panem isn't in great shape either, excluding the Capitol of course. The citizens of the Capitol probably think of us as animals, not appreciating what the Capitol had done for us. "We saved them from total destruction, and how do they repay us?!" That was probably what they were saying right now. Of course, they are somewhat correct. After the sea covered much of the land, we had little food or anything for that matter. The system worked, but it was definitely time for a change. It had been a while since then and we needed better treatment. True, District 4, which is where I live, was pretty well off, but I had heard of other districts where people starve to death daily. That didn't seem very fun.

I roll out of my "bed." I say "bed" because it's pretty much a pile of dried up seaweed and dirt covered with cloth from a sail. The rebels camp is hidden in a small cave in a cliff at the edge of a little inlet. My feet hit the ground and send up a little cloud of dust. I cough loudly which frightens some bats that live in a little corner of the cavern. There squeaks are really annoying for someone who just woke up, so I curse a couple of times and rub my eyes.

Pretty much the whole camp is sitting on the little beach out front skipping rocks. One guy named Urso (which literally means bear) is picking up boulders and tossing them into the sea.

"I'll give you some seaweed if you can skip one," I tell him sarcastically.

"I'm running a little low," he replies without looking at me. It's a joke of course. We eat seaweed for breakfast, lunch and dinner; sleep on it; and tie our boats to it.

Everyone looks burnt out, like they gave up on life. Might as well have. Now we'll be some kind of joke for future generations in the Capitol.

"Magali, can you go get your weapons? We don't want the peacekeepers to see them when we get back to town." My father is trying to catch little minnows with his bare hands. He seems pretty distracted so he hasn't caught any. He can usually catch the smallest ones one handed.

I walk over to my supplies and and finger the sharp metal of my sword. I barely ever used it, but when I did, it saved my life. I can't say I was any good at it, but I definitely wasn't hopeless. My trident, crossbow, spear, and mace seem to be saying, "Please don't leave us! We protected you!" The spear was my strongest weapon. I could throw it forwards, backwards, or even use it like a knife in close fighting. I could pin a hummingbird by its wing. I pick up as many of them as I can and dump them in the ocean. The salty spray makes me wonder if we could have done more. But we couldn't. We would just end up like District 13. I look down and see my prized possessions smashed by the rocks. I tear up a bit. But wipe my eyes and go get the rest of the weapons. When we've destroyed everything, we pile into little rowboats and make the journey back to the district.

District 4 is unique in that the fence doesn't go all the way around the district. It has to include the ocean because our trade is fishing and providing sea water for the zoos in the Capitol. I used to feel like I lived in a zoo. Back in the days before the rebellion. I was 11 years old when it started. Now I'm 17. I had my birthday the day a tracker jacker nest fell on my little brother, Fitch. I hate to remember his bloated body oozing pus. His little, twitching face... It's too painful. But there used to just be buoys out in the boundries of where the fishing boats were allowed to go. Nobody ever thought of leaving until the rebellion.

I see some houses on the horizon and know we're getting close. I get that really incredibly annoying feeling in my stomach that you get when you're not sure what its going to be like when you get to where your going, but your kind of happy everything's going to be the same. I curse and resort to dipping my hand in the water and making little wakes. And I mean really little wakes. These rowboats are so incredibly slow, unlike the real mechanical boats District 3 sent us. But of course, _those_ boats got blown up when we lost the war. The salty air calms me a bit. I've always been at ease around the ocean. I was born on a boat and I love the way the water the rocks you like a little baby in a cradle.

After a couple more years, no I'm just kidding, months. Ok, it was only about an hour, we come to a huge 10 ft tall fence with barbed wire on the top. In the middle of the ocean! Urso dives down and says it goes all the way to the bottom, or as far as he can see. So much for being unique. It looks pretty safe, except for the barbed wire, so we decide to climb it and just swim the rest of the way. Its the best we've got. There's about 50 of us, and we all manage to climb it while avoiding the barbed wire. One person gets a couple scratches on their arms, but nothing major. Its about a mile to land, and for the third time today, I curse.

**OK, so I know it didn't include the hunger games, but I thought it was a good place to stop. The reaping will be in the next chapter. Please tell me what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2 Reapings

"Come on, move it!" shouted a young peacekeeper. "Let's go!" he said as he herded the citizens of District 4 into the square where most of the shops were. He had blond hair and looked no older than 20. I didn't recognize him. I guess most of the old ones had either sided with the rebellion or been killed during it. If they sided with it, most likely they were still pretty dead. I hadn't been to the square in over 6 years. It made me feel kind of good, especially when I saw Dinghy's Bait Shop was still in one piece. We had gone there almost every weekend to get more bait for my father's fishing business back before the rebellion. I smiled at the gray-haired owner of the Bait Shop and he waved back.

They had set up the square so there were 7 roped off areas with signs from 12 to 18. There was a rope around all of them. A stage had been set up on the side closer to the ocean and opposite the Bait Shop. I noticed that mostly adults were outside the roped off areas and the older kids were in the places marked 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18.

"Do you know what's going on?" I asked my old friend Jamie. I hadn't seen her since I was 14 because our rebellion groups got split up.

"No idea," she said with a shrug.

Apparently we had to stand with our age group. Jamie and I headed over to the 17s. I saw Urso in the 16s and waved. He didn't look very happy. Even though we were different ages, we were really only a month apart, so he hadn't turned yet. He had pretty much been my best friend during the rebellion, especially after we lost Jamie's group.

"Excuse me, please be quiet!" said a familiar voice, and not in a good way.

I looked up to see President Cartwheeler himself. He looked pretty worn out, but he also wore a nice big smirk. He was accompanied by about 26 members of Panem's army, who all wielded very big, very shiny machine guns. One guy shot randomly into the audience on the president's cue. I heard a shriek and saw an old man who was none other than the owner of the bait shop fall forward dripping in blood. I watched bewildered as he was lifted onto a stretcher and carted away to a hospital. President Cartwheeler smirked. I glared.

"So," he said, with his wonderful Capitol accent, as if nothing had happened, "I am sure you are well aware that you have lost the rebellion." He smiled pleasantly. "I am also sure that you know that there will be a consequence." Worse than District 13 blowing up? "Before I tell you what this consequence is I would like you all to know that all of the survivors of District 13 have been killed." Well we all expected that. "Now onto that consequence," he continued as he licked his lips. "All of the districts will be having a little competition. All of your children ages 12 to 18 have been entered once into a lottery to decide which boy and which girl will be going from your district. Next year, tesserae will be available. This will put you in again as many times as you want to receive a years worth of grain and oil for one person. Now onto the choosing, or reaping." He licked his lips.

A peacekeeper brought a glass bowl full of slips of paper. The president dipped his hand in and pulled out one of the slips.

"The girl tribute is Magali O'Finn. Please come forward."

It took a moment to register that I was the "tribute" and would be in this competition. I walked up to the stage hesitantly. I was still unsure what the competition would be, but I had a feeling it wouldn't be pretty. The president smiled at me, but I didn't smile back. Instead I played with the end of one of my dirty blond braids. Another peacekeeper brought him another glass bowl full of slips, and again the president dipped his hand in and pulled one out.

"The boy tribute is Urso Covendro." Urso walked up and stood next to me with an affixed stare. Everyone in the crowd looked at Cartwheeler expectantly. He waited for about a minute.

"I'm sure you are all wondering what this competition is," he said, his smirk was gone. He licked his lips before continuing. "The tributes from all of the districts will be placed in an outdoor arena that could be a tropical island to a frozen wasteland to a scorching desert-," he licked his lips,"where they will be kill- or be killed."

The audience let out a collective gasp.


	3. Chapter 3 Tributes

I looked out my Urso sized window at the forests speeding past. I tried to count the bird nests we passed, but we were going too fast. _If the rebellion had had this kind of technology_, I thought, _then we would have won no problem._ The train was from the Capitol, and it was taking us there apparently, "For the dang opening ceremonies! Go rot in your room." That was how our "escort" had phrased it. His name was Grig and he wasn't really escorting us, he was just in the same train. He had taken us to the train and locked us in our rooms for an hour until I managed to pick the lock. Maybe they would have a locked door to take us to safety in the arena, because then I would definitely win. He hadn't seemed too angry that we had escaped, but when we talked to him, he wasn't very nice. Grig had extremely pale skin, so pale I didn't think it was normal. Maybe he had some type of rare skin disease that also made him rude? His brown dreadlocks ended in pink ribbons and his large head was way too big for his body. So now I was back in my room, trying to figure out what the games would be like.

"Maggie," my father had said, "you'll do fine! After all, you've been fighting in the rebellion for, what, six years?" That was true. And I couldn't say I enjoyed killing them, but I was happy to. But in the games, I would be fighting people my own age and younger. And it wasn't like I had a very good reason to kill them. OK, so maybe I did have the reason that they were trying to kill me, but other than that…not really. And it was televised for everyone to see! Maybe I could just hide out in a tree…

But what if the arena didn't even have trees? Cartwheeler had said that it could be anything from a desert, to a tundra, to a tropical island. I think I could deal with it being a tropical island, because of the water, but a desert? I would die the first day. I sat there looking out the window thinking of all the ways I could die for who knows how long, when I hear a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" I ask.

"Urso."

"Oh," I say, "come in."

He opens the door hesitantly, like he's expecting some giant spider to pop out at his face.

"So?" I ask.

Urso opens his mouth then closes it. I can tell he's been thinking about the Hunger Games too. "Grig gave me some movies he says they watch in the Capitol."

"He actually talked to you?" I ask him as a huge grin breaks out on my face.

"Believe it or not he did," laughs Urso. "He said they're about survival or something, and that it might help prepare us for the games. He said that the games are probably going to be designed to entertain the Capitol, so he thinks they might get some inspiration from the movies."

"What's a movie?"

"Apparently it's like TV, only not everything is real, like they have people pretending to be lost at sea and stuff. Like acting." I nod my head. We used to have monthly plays during the rebellion. Once I played a cow from district 10. He continues, "So you wanna get started?"

The TV is nothing like the one we used to own. It's huge and black, and once again, Urso sized. And it doesn't go fuzzy or have two well-rusted wires sticking out of the top. We sit kind of awkwardly on what my mother used to call a "love seat." And since we aren't in love, or anywhere near that, it's pretty awkward. The first movie we watched was about people trying to climb this humongous snowy mountain. _For fun_. Who would do that _for fun_? But anyways, a huge boulder rolls on top of one of the guys arms and he sits there howling in pain for a couple days when a huge snowstorm rolls in. The other guys in his group have been bringing him food and stuff, but right now they aren't here and the guy is probably going to get buried in 10 feet of snow. He tries to roll the boulder off, but it's no use. Finally he resorts to cutting his own arm off, which is pretty blinding, even for me. He finds his group and they find a safe place to wait out the storm. They don't finish climbing the mountain and have to hike back down. It's a little unrealistic, but I've never seen a mountain, or snow, so I guess I know a little more now.

By the second movie I've forgotten about the awkwardness, and am curled up on the love seat. It's about these people whose plane crashes in the middle of the ocean and they're floating out there for days and days. They eat one person (Grig told Urso that it's probably not a very good idea to eat people because the Capitol won't like that), but then they figure out a way to catch fish. Eventually they wash up on some little tropical island full of fruit and animals. They feed some fruit to the animals to see if it's poisonous, which I think is a pretty good idea. One of the fruits didn't affect the animal, but killed one person. That was a good thing to think about. Especially if they have animals like tracker jackers and jabber jays running all over the place. In the end, the island sets on fire and just before the people are surrounded by flames, they are rescued by a search party that saw the fire.

There are about 3 other movies and by the time they are finished, we've wasted this very boring day. They are set in a forest, a snowy wasteland, and a desert. They do help a lot and I feel a little bit more prepared. But I'm still doubting myself.

After a very uneventful dinner full of glares from Grig, I take the first shower to actually clean me in 6 years, slip on fuzzy blue pajama pants and a polka-dotted tank top, and fall asleep under my fluffy chocolate-colored covers.

**Oh, Grig...  
**


	4. Chapter 4 Ceremonies

The next morning a screeching alarm found its way into my dream about winning the rebellion. Even in dreamland, I knew something was wrong when it was coming from a little fuzzy rabbit. I jammed the pillow over my ears and used some very descriptive words. The alarm finally stopped, and a voice came on over the intercom. It was none other than the gravelly voice of Grig saying, "Get up! Stop sleeping! We're almost in the Capitol!"

"Almost" apparently meant "are" in Grig's dictionary, because by the time I'd sleepily pulled on a pretty purple baby doll, some jeans, and black boots; and put my hair in two braids, Grig told us we'd been in the Capitol for over an hour.

"You're making everybody wait! Jesus!" Who's Jesus?

"What time is it?" I yawned.

"6:30!" That really woke me up- or maybe it put me back to sleep.

Right then, Urso stumbled in. He rubbed his eyes. They had dark circles under them. He was wearing a nice short sleeve button-up shirt and some dark jeans. He said something that sounded like, "urblegurgletlehinburkdolbr," but he was probably muttering something under his breath.

Grig pushed us out the door- literally shoved us- then nimbly hopped down the steps and shoved us (again) into a waiting car. It was a limo with a hot tub. When I asked if we could use it, Grig slapped me and made my lip bleed. He said it was none of my "durn beeswax!" For the rest of the ride, I looked out the window at the passing cars and, especially, the people. Oh, the people. One person had a 5 foot tall afro. Most of the people were even weirder than that. They had red eyes, polka-dotted skin, and feet that looked like caterpillars. So these would be the people who would watch me kill 12 year olds.

We pulled up in front of a building that was extremely tall. There was a circular tower in the middle and 6 spiral-y things about 10 feet away from that. Glass elevators were going up through the center of the spirals. Inside, there were drawings and paintings and photographs crammed together on the walls, and peacock colored drapes on the windows. The white marble floors clicked under our shoes. People with crazy body decorations stood in little groups off to the side, but hardly made a sound. I felt their eyes boring into the back of my skull.

"This is where your stylists are," whispered Grig. He saw our questioning looks and quickly added, "They'll make you less ugly." Typical Grig.

We walked up to a lady with a huge green beehive with little diamonds cut out of it. She was sitting behind a desk, so I figured she was a "receptionist," like in one of the movies we watched the day before. "Hello," she said in a very low voice, especially for a woman. It was probably changed, like everything else in this city. "You two must be from District 4. Follow Hiboq," she said pointing to a tiny man with huge eyes.

Hiboq didn't say a word the whole time. The elevator was glass so Urso and I played a game about finding the weirdest alteration among the Capitol citizens. I found a woman who had a branch coming out of her belly button with a bird made out of her hair on the end, but Urso found a guy with hair all over his body of different shades and textures. So nasty.

We were put in separate rooms. My room was neon yellow, and after ten minutes of waiting, it was starting to hurt my eyes. After my prep team was through ripping all of the hair off of it, my skin hurt worse than my eyes. My stylist was named Queego and he didn't seem very happy to be there. He had a blue hairdo shaped like the building, but was mostly normal other than that.

"You're Magali?" he snapped.

"Call me Maggie."

"So Magali." This was going to be a long day. "What is your District known for?"

"Fishing?" I answered in question form.

"Precisely. First thing in the opening ceremonies is going to be a chariot ride. You will exit the chariot in special outfits to symbolize what your district does and walk down a carpet."

"So your going to dress me like a fish." This actually made him smile. Maybe he thought I'd be some prissy little snob.

"Well, actually," he started as I made a face, "you will be dressed as a mermaid!" My face lit up. How fun would that be! But then I thought again.

"Will Urso be one too?" I asked.

"He will be a sailor."

"Well that's good," I replied with a smile


	5. Chapter 5 Training

The chariot ride went off without a hitch. My sparkly, blue-green gown hugged my body until about a foot above my ankles. From there it was a forest green silk that looked so much like water that you couldn't tell the difference if you poured water by its side. The top had no straps and was held above my chest by a rope. I wore dark blue flats. My hair looked like it was wet and hung in waves to my back. I had on blue eyeliner and a whole lot of mascara.

Urso wasn't your typical sailor. His hat was same green-blue as my dress (though not as sparkly) and had rope on the bottom. His pants were dark blue silk like my shoes. They looked like water too. The shirt was white and tight to show off Urso's muscles, but it also had rope wrapped around a couple times.

The next day was training.

"You see, they have a bunch of stations," said Grig, who was very annoyed. "You go to whichever ones you like and practice."

"Oh," Urso muttered.

"Yeah," snapped Grig. "And then you go back later by yourself and the Game Makers score you on what you do."

I found some green yoga pants and a white tank top on my bed and quickly changed. I left my hair down, but decided to put them in braids for my private training.

We were the second district to arrive. District 1 was already there. The instructor hadn't started yet, and I wanted to see if they really were in the same boat as us, so I started talking to them.

"Hi," I said, extending an arm, "I'm Magali, and this is Urso." I pointed to him. He was playing with his light brown hair.

The girl eyed me closely, then shook my hand. "Patin. This is Beam." She had platinum blond hair to her shoulders, pale skin, and gray eyes. She was about a foot shorter than me, and I was guessing she was around 14 or 15. The boy was a skinny little thing, but you could see that he had arm muscles. He had short, darker blond hair and freckles all over his face. He seemed a little scared, but it was hard to tell with Patina. We talked a little and I figured out both had been fighting in the rebellion, but didn't know each other. I told them Urso and I were friends.

The other tributes entered at about the same time, so I didn't get to talk to them. The instructor explained everything- in more detail than Grig- and wished us a "Happy hunger games!" I rolled my eyes, but it was a good thing he wasn't looking. Urso and I decided to stay together.

"I think we should wait to do our best stuff until we've seen everybody," I told him. He agreed.

First we went, to the knot tying station because, even though we were amazing at knots, we had barely ever done snares. We both caught on quickly and soon headed over to swords. I managed to do pretty well, but Urso…well he didn't. Wrestling was pretty basic, and we already had a start on plants. After knives, which we were both really good at, we had seen a lot of the other tributes.

Patin was expert at swords, and Beam's best weapon was the spear. I guess we had that in common. District 2 had a 12 year old who was only good at plants, and the other at pretty much everything except knives. Everybody was good at something, but the person that stuck in my mind the most was a boy from 6. He was huge with bulking muscles and was amazing with a bow, and, of course, strength. He scared me. A lot. Not only did he have skill, but he had looks. And lots of them. He had black hair to about his ears, chiseled features, and a flashy smile. And I had heard him talk. You can guess what that was like.

We went to spears, but I didn't really want everyone to see how good I was, so I didn't throw my best. At weights, I could tell Urso wasn't really trying.

Later that day, we all sat in a waiting room for private training. Beam went first, then Patin, and so on. After a little, the hot guy from 6 came over and sat right next to me.

"Hey." That's what _he _said.

I stared into his beautiful, brown eyes. I managed to keep from blabbering and said, "Hi." How pathetic.

"I'm from District 6. I'm Cayne. Who are you?"

Ok, stay strong Mags. I didn't want to appear weak to the other tributes. "I'm Magali from District 4." That sounded pretty normal.

"Well, Magali from District 4," he said with a laugh, "it's nice to meet to you."

Oh my god he said my name! "It's nice to meet you too," I said warmly.

He seemed about to say something, but the instructor came and told me it was time for my private training. "Bye," I said quickly. He waved as I left.


	6. Chapter 6 Interviews

The next day we saw our scores on the TV. The announcer, who was an extremely tall and skinny woman with purple skin and floor length hair, told everyone that the scores were out of twelve. I crossed my fingers behind my back and watched as the pictures of the other tributes flashed on the screen. Patin got a 10 and Beam got an 8. Urso's score came first for district 4. He got an 9, and I got a 10. Cayne got a 9. A lot of the other tributes got pretty high except for a few prissy looking people who probably didn't fight in the rebellion.

"Good job," I said to Urso.

"You too," he smiled.

"Don't get too excited," growled Grig. "There's still the interviews."

"I'm not even going to ask," I said with a groan.

"You might want to," Grig replied. "We have to work on your angle."

Grig wanted me to be sexy for the interview, but I refused. Even Urso agreed I could pull it off.

"Thanks guys, that's really nice you think I'm sexy, but I don't want that angle," I said. I was frustrated.

"Well than, what the hell are you going to do?" shouted Grig.

I glared at him. "I have a personality."

"You could be confindent," said Urso.

"But I'm not confident." I sighed. "I could be determined I guess. And possibly intelligent. And I could get into my love of the sea." Everybody agreed and we decided Urso would be tough and thoughtful.

I wore another "mermaid" dress for the interview. This time it was purple and had straps. Urso wore another tight, white shirt and some loose pants. Everything went well. I noticed that Patin's interview personality was sharp, wary, and a little bit firy. She wore a tight white dress that went down to mid-thigh and had sparkles all over it. Beam was pretty silent and seemed kind of mysterious. Cayne was, of course, sexy and charming.

The next day was the beginning of the Games, and I figured I should get enough sleep, so I went to bed early. I tossed and turned all night, trying to get a little uninterrupted sleep. I had nightmares that we were tossed into a nice, salty sea, but just as I felt relieved, the water boiled away to become an aweful desert. Some of my other dreams consisted of a boy from District 7 swinging an axe at my head. I would wake up in a cold sweat after all of them. Even though I really wanted to get up and run outside, I fought off the urge. I needed to sleep. Maybe the nightmares would get better. They didn't.

The next day was overcast, which I thought was pretty fitting. We boarded a hovercraft where we would get our outfits for the games.

Queego gave me some tight, stretchy black pants with a huge pocket on the side. They seemed kind of water-proof and were pretty thick.. That gave me some hope. Next came some black boots with big, rubbery soles that also went over the toe. They laced up to mid-calf. Then there was a brown tank top that Queego said was made out of a water-proof material. Over that went a cozy, black jacket.

"The people in the Capitol aren't completely happy about the Games," said Queego.

"I guess that's a lot better than them being really excited to watch us fight to the death," I said.

"Well, some of them are actually looking forward to it," he said with a frown.

"Oh," I thought for a moment. "Are you?"

"No," said Queego in a split-second. I could tell he'd been thinking about it. He looked at his watch and said, "Ok, you can stand on that metal plate over there."

I stood on it and just as the glass was lowering over it, Queego said, "Good luck," with an encouraging smile.

I smiled back and gave a quick wave.

I watched his form disappear as I was lowered under the hovercraft.


	7. Chapter 7 Challenges

For about ten seconds, there is nothing but darkness. All of a sudden, a bright light shines in my eyes. I squint to get a view of the arena for as long as I can. And I'm not on a tropical island.

All of the tributes are on metal plates like mine. We had been instructed to not step off until the gong rang after 60 seconds because there are land mines under the ground. We are all in a circle and the cornucopia, a golden horn filled to the brim with supplies, is a good distance in the middle, maybe 100 feet. It's warm, and we are all standing with our backs right up against a calm river that surrounds our island. Behind where the front of the cornucopia is for me (which is the actual front), is a rope bridge. I can't see it very well, but I'm completely sure it's not stable and the game makers will make it fall. At about 6 places around the circle, there are logs stretched across the river. On the sides of the still water there are cattails and other marsh grasses. Beyond the river is a deciduous forest, probably with trees like oaks, maples, and birches.

I can feel the 60 seconds ticking away, so I make a plan. I can't just leave with nothing since I don't know that much about this environment. Plus, I need weapons. The supplies at the cornucopia are spread out about halfway to us, but the most stuff is at the mouth. I decide to sprint as fast as I can and get a spear and some random pack and swim the channel behind the horn. If the spear's hard to get, I'll just get some other weapon, since I at least know how use pretty much every kind.

I feel the minute getting close to its end, so I shift a little on my plate to get ready to sprint. At my left I hear a loud, "CRAP!" and a BOOM! following it. I glance over and see that someone stepped off their plate. There are a couple singed body parts close by. Another person must have been startled by the sound because I hear another BOOM in the same direction, but this time I don't look because I know the time's almost up. _2 down_, I think _and 22 to go_.

"Bong!" the gong sounds. I race off the plate as fast as I possibly can, staring at the golden horn that's growing bigger each step. I grit my teeth and go even faster. I don't notice anyone, but I'm aware of their presence. I'm about halfway in and I pass a bucket of worms, some rope, and a square of something. I ignore all of them. I look for a spear and I see it at the very top of the mouth on my left. I ditch the spear idea and head for a shiny knife about 5 feet ahead. I quickly scoop it up and notice that other tributes are getting pretty close to the gold horn, too, but I'm probably the closest in.

I hear a splash and think to myself that someone is probably trying to swim the channel, which I was going to do too. But not too long after the noise I hear blood-curdling screams from exactly the same place. I decide not to swim.

I'm about 10 feet to the Cornucopia and I spot a black pack about the size of 2 watermelons at the edge of it. I run for it and snatch it just as I'm passing. As I run, I shrug it onto my shoulders. The straps are nice and padded, but the pack's pretty heavy. I don't loose speed though. In fact, I run probably as fast as I ever have because I'm very aware that people are arriving at the Cornucopia. They will probably be preoccupied with the people around them, but they might throw a knife at me. Right on cue, a knife whistles past my ear. I see where it lands and decide it would be best to pick it up.

By now I'm getting close the cattails and the water. I run the rest of the way to one of the logs and swing under it and start crawling upside down. It's not too far of a drop, but enough for me to have extra space between the log and the water. Thank god, whatever is in the river doesn't jump.

When I'm about three quarters of the way to the other side I notice two people on the rope bridge. I stop myself from yelling to them to get off. Just as I thought, it wasn't stable and the two fall into the water. I hear their screams and look the other way.

When I finally get to solid ground, I run as quickly and as warily as I can into the forest. It would be really easy for me to run right under someone and have them skewer me with a spear, but they probably wouldn't be armed since it takes so long to get to the cornucopia. There are still traps made by the game makers to watch out for.

I realize how quiet the forest is. The sound of my quick steps and the wind in the trees are the only noises. I slow down to a quick walk and hear a jabberjay's warning call in the distance. _Muttations_. There were bound to a bunch of new ones made specifically for the games.

Water would probably be a good thing to find right now. The river around the Cornucopia probably branched off, but I didn't catch where._ Stupid Mags_, I think. I walk a little longer under the swaying branches of elms, oaks, maples, birches, hickories, and a hundred other trees I can't name.

After I've decided that I'm far enough away from the Cornucopia I make a sharp turn to my left. At some point I will probably hit a stream. My trail curves ever so slightly so I go in a circle.

After a while, I can tell the sun's on the other side of where it was this morning even through the thick canopy of leaves. I still haven't hit the stream yet. I might have water in my pack, so I drop to one knee in a tiny clearing and open it up. I'm holding onto one knife and still very alert in case someone attacks me. My braids flutter in the breeze, which is getting stronger each minute. It turns out there's a bottle of water and a loaf of bread in the pack, along with a couple glass bottles of medicines, a sleeping bag, some pieces of flint and steel, and iodine for purifying water.

I hear a twig snap behind me and in a split second I'm on my feet, spun around. It's Cayne.


	8. Chapter 8 Trust

He's as hot as ever and sporting a nice big bruise on his right cheek. I've got my two knives in both my hands, and I can throw straight with both of them. At first, Cayne looked like he was gonna bolt, but now his face registers recognition. His bow is raised and he looks pretty wary, but he also doesn't look like he's going to attack anytime soon.

"Do you have allies?" I ask. I'm ready to attack at any moment.

He shakes his head and then answers, "No." He steps into the clearing.

"You remember me?" I ask. I take a step forward.

His eyes aren't wary anymore. In fact, he's looking me over like he did in the waiting room. "Of course," he says, "Magali from District 4." He smiles.

I don't return it. He could be playing me. Hoping I'll fall madly in love with his good looks and charming ways.

By now I'm really itching to pierce his skin with my knife. To hell with him, even if he is hot. Even though I don't want to be the one to start the fighting. And even though I want all the tributes to join hands and sing some corny song about world peace. But I'm about to throw it. I'm about to do it- and something stops me.

A person steps out of the shadows. And its Urso sized. And then I can see its face, and it is Urso. Only he's got little, bloody bite marks all over his skin and even through some of his clothing. Some of his hair is ripped out and he looks like he is in pain.

"You said you didn't have allies," I said pointedly.

"Well obviously I lied." His smile's gone, but he's still not in an attacking position. But he could be using Urso too. To get to me. Or maybe Urso's even in on the plot too. I shake my head. These games are making me really paranoid.

I'm about to ask Urso what's going on when a knife flies past my head and sticks in a tree. I've been barely missed two times today. I must be using up a lot of my luck.

Out of the trees comes the knife thrower and he's got a sword and an ally too. I don't recognize them, but I know they are from District 12 when I see their dark hair and olive skin. The sword-weilding knife-thrower makes his way towards me. If I throw the knife, I'll definitely kill him, but then I'll only have one for Cayne. The girl has a bow and I see she's shooting at Cayne and Urso. Cayne's already got one on the very side of his arm. I throw the knife and it hits where the boy's heart should be, where you know you have a problem if it isn't, and he topples over in pain. The blood oozes through his jacket. I rip the knife out of his chest. The girl is already hit by one of Cayne's arrows. That probably wasn't the best plan. Three against two isn't fun.

A cannon sounds, which I remember means a tribute's dead, and very soon after another one sounds. I run to the tree and take the knife out as quickly as I can. I see a hovercraft materialize overhead and scurry as quietly as I can into the swaying trees. It picks up both of the tributes from District 12 and leaves as quickly as it came.

Cayne and Urso stand in the little clearing and drop their weapons. I hesitantly step forward. Cayne looks at me like he's kind of sad, which is weird because nothing has happened that would make a monstrous boy with great charisma feel sad. Unless he's playing it up for the hidden cameras.

He takes a deep breath, extends a hand, and asks, "So are we allies?"

Well, what can I do? A hot guy who's allies with my best friend and who also just dropped his weapons when he knows I could kill him in a second has just asked me if we're allies. So what can I do?

So I drop my knives and say, "Yeah." Pathetic, once again.

There's a silence and I'm waiting for his other allies to come and attack me. But they don't come. So I walk over to Urso and he smiles and gives me a slap on the back.


	9. Chapter 9 Allies

"I never hid those clams!" I say in protest.

"Oh yes you did!" laughs Urso.

"Did not," I say with a laugh. I punch him playfully in the shoulder.

Unexpectedly, Cayne's hulking figure drops about a foot away from me. It makes me jump. He had been scouting for other tributes in the treetops. For being so muscular, he is insanely agile. His brown eyes are dark and brooding. I glance at Urso. The smile has left his scratched up lips.

"No one," says Cayne quietly. "We should get moving."

I put everything back in my pack. We used some of the medicine on Urso's bites. He had run halfway to the cornucopia and tried swimming the channel. He was probably the one who's scream I heard. Cayne had saved him, apparently. He had a couple bites. And then they had run into the forest. I still don't know why he would save Urso, of all people. I tighten my grip on my knife. Cayne has the other. Urso managed to grab a little pocket knife. I don't really think it will do him much good. Sooner or later we'll get more weapons.

I look over at Cayne. The breeze ruffles his jet black hair. He's tying up a little satchel he got. It contains a mushroom that's about the size of a baseball (we still don't know if it's OK to eat), a thin little blanket, some rope, and some plastic wrap. He looks a little scared, but I can tell he is trying to hide it. He senses me looking at him and turns around. I look away. I'm getting over my blabber reflex, but he's still really hot.

He's hot, all right, but I hate it. It's like he expects you to fall for him. Not gonna happen. And besides, if I'm ever going to have another boyfriend, it's not going to be in the midst of all this death. Yep, believe it or not I've had two boyfriends. And guess what? They both died. Right when we were starting to love each other. It's so cliche. It's like I'm cursed or something.

I feel anger bubbling up into my mouth, and the last thing I want to do is erupt like a volcano. So I do the thing that's always stopped my anger in it's tracks. Hurt. I know it sounds terrible, but anger fuels me. And since there's nobody I really want to hurt around here right now, I break a branch off a little tree and snap it in half. Again and again. Until there's nothing left to break, and no anger left to spill over. We'll have no trouble starting a fire. All the wood's pretty dry. I hope I didn't just jinx everything.

We finally found the stream, although it's more like a rushing river. We're not too far away from it now, but far enough so we don't here it's roar.

Everyone's done packing up, so I give each of them a hunk of squirrel we caught and cooked not too long ago. I chew mine for a while, trying to savor it. It doesn't really work so I just swallow it. I'm glad the squirrels are normal. In one of the movies, there was a duck thing that blew up in their throats and strangled them. I'm glad that didn't happen with the squirrels.

"I still don't get why our outfits are water proof," says Urso while pulling a bit on his shirt. It's pretty balmy, so the sweatshirts are safely tucked away in my bag.

"There was the river around the Cornucopia, but that was about it," says Cayne who's still frowning.

"Maybe it'll rain so much we'll all float around and have to send messages in bottles," Urso says sarcastically.

"Oh don't worry," I say cheerfully, "Cayne can get the sponsors to send him a tropical island." I glance at him. He doesn't seem that affected so I continue, "We can tan on the beach all day and invite the game makers to a tea party."

There's actually a smile on his face. "I call the spot next to President Carwheeler!" he says. We all laugh.

In about two seconds a red parachute floats down toward us. I'm confused for a second, but then I remember that it's a sponsor gift. I smile at my allies and catch it before it hits the ground. I tear at the box excitedly and laugh at whats inside. It's a steak shaped like an island, with a sailboat, a palm tree, and a little person tanning.

I guess we're really giving those capitol people some entertainment.

We start walking along the river. It's so peaceful in the woods you could almost forget that you're in a game meant to kill children. Almost.

"The sun's getting low on the horizon," I say quietly, still on the alert. "We should keep going for a little and then go a bit farther into the woods."

"Then we'll set up camp," says Cayne. Urso and I nod.

I try to imagine being on my own, and how hard it would be. Maybe an alliance isn't such a bad thing. That doesn't mean I can trust Cayne. I glance over at him. He's concentrating really hard. Maybe he's thinking, like me. Girls in the Capitol must be so jealous of me right now. How much would they hate me if I killed Cayne? I probably wouldn't have any sponsors. Not like I take any of that crap into consideration. I'm in this thing for me, to stay alive. Not to entertain some Capitol priss. I smile to myself as I think about saying that in some speech when I win. I can just imagine the look of horror on their deformed faces.

The sun is setting when we find the perfect tree. Finally. Urso is such a perfectionist. It's a big oak tree with a bunch of sturdy forks all bunched together. I'm not the best tree climber, but Cayne helps me up. During the process of helping me, he touches my back end- probably a mistake, but I still say, "Watch it," with a growl. It's my best Grig interpretation yet.

When we're all up, we tie the packs to a sturdy branch with rope. I settle down in my sleeping bag in two nicely placed forks. _Thank you mother nature_, I think. One of the knives came in a sheath and its in my sleeping bag near my knee. Urso and Cayne settle in on my left under the thin blanket in some forks. I really hope none of us fall out of the tree.

"Good night Urso," I say sleepily.

"Good night Mag," says Urso.

"Good night Cayne," I say.

"Good night Magali. Good night Urso."

"Good night Cayne."

The Capitol anthem plays and we can see the seal through an opening in the leaves. Neither Beam or Patin are up there, so District 1 is still alive. I recognize the boy from District 2, both people from 5, the girl from District 6, the boy from 11, and the girl and boy from District 12 we killed.

7 down, 17 left.


	10. Chapter 10 Jabberjay

**Please give me constructive criticism! I don't even care if you flame me or whatever as long as you're not exaggerating a lot and its true. Thanks!**

**I changed this chapter! Just so everyone knows the change is about how she got cut. And thanks so much to** **snickerdoodles96** **for helping me out with the animal idea. I hope its realistic enough since I've never really been in that situation, but funny story actually, a squirrel once thought I had food and I was trying to pet it (like 5 years old so) and it scratched my nails. I was fine, but everyone thought it bit me and I had rabies. If that happened to me now I'd laugh my head off.**

In the morning, I rub my eyes and look expectantly to my left. Urso's still asleep so I give him a shove. "Wake up sleepyhead," I say. His eyelids flicker open and he gives a little groan.

"Five more minutes?" he whines.

I laugh and quickly untangle myself from my sleeping bag, stuffing it in my pack. I make sure to remove my weapons and then remember how we killed those tributes yesterday. I quietly swear at myself for forgetting to take that guy's sword.

By now Urso's getting up and I see Cayne packing. "We should get moving quickly," I say. I'm feeling awfully happy for someone pretty much at war, but I try to cover it up since I'm hoping I won't have to finish them off myself. Well not Urso. I would gladly do Cayne in.

I jump out of the tree from the lowest branch and somewhat injure my tailbone. Well maybe Cayne will know some remedy for that, being from the medical district and all.

When everybody's up and packed, we finish off the steak from yesterday. We wrap the squirrels in plastic wrap from Cayne's pack because they will last longer, especially since we cooked them. Then we walk to the river and fill up our bottles. Each of us puts in 5 drops of iodine, waits 5 minutes, lets the clean water touch the outside where we will put our mouths, and don't drink it for somewhere around 30 minutes. Don't want to get some gross disease.

"Wonder what's going on with everyone else," says Cayne.

"I don't really want to know," says Urso with a grimace. He hates the taste of iodine.

We've been walking for a while and we're going downhill. Not very noticeably, but still down. I just hope there aren't any mutts down there.

"Let's hope we don't know for a while," I say. "I'm not really in the mood to kill anybody."

"I am," says Cayne with a glint in his eyes. I don't know if he really means it, but it's kind of scary. I try not to show how afraid I am, but I grip my knife tighter. I'm not sure I like this alliance. Cayne would be far better off on his own, and he knows it. He doesn't need us. I bet we're just going to get stabbed in the back while we're sleeping.

We're getting pretty grimy, and we come to a small pond, so we decide to bathe. Urso and Cayne go first. I make a point about hunting while they bathe. It's awkward especially around Cayne. So I take Cayne's little satchel and put it diagonally across my body. I grab my knife and set off.

It's a beautiful day. The sun is shining, the birds are tweeting, and there's not a jabberjay in sight. I sigh. And, of course, right at that moment a jabberjay lands on a branch about 10 feet above my head to my right. That's annoying. I'm about to shoot it when I here a girl's voice say, "After those mutts last night, who knows what else there is here." I try my best to blend into an oak tree.

I glance around. There's nobody. I look up at the jabberjay. "Yeah," says a deeper boy's voice, "we should sleep in a tree tonight." It's definitely coming from the jay. And apparently, there are dangerous mutts on the ground at night. I take a step from the tree. I smile.

The jabberjay then gives a low moan, and the girl's voice says, "Come on Hugo, I can still save you. We don't want District 8 to lose, now do we?"

District 8. It's the pair from District 8. And it sounds like the boy, Hugo, is seriously wounded from some mutt. I almost smile again, but then I stop.

I remember how the rebels had turned the jabberjays against the capitol. I frown. Could that be the case now? Could the District 8 pair be using the jays? Or are they even from District 8 at all?

I try to remember who's dead. I don't remember seeing anyone from 8. Then I think back to the interviews. Yes, the boy's name is Hugo. I remember seeing him at training when we were at the sword station. He was laughing with some dark haired girl, but I don't remember her name. He was good at swords, so he could have survived killer mutts. Not one of the prissy ones. So, either these people paid a lot of attention to the District 8 tributes, or they are from District 8. But still, I have no way of knowing that what the jabberjay said was true.

I've caught some squirrels when I decide it's time to head back. The wind's started blowing again. Hard. It's a full out gale when I've made it halfway back, and I didn't hunt that far away. I consider yelling to Urso and Cayne to make sure they know I'm coming, but then remember the other 14 tributes running amuck in the woods.

The wind is blowing so hard I have to take a step at a time, and it's pushing me down river. I try grabbing onto trees to push my way to my allies. It's not working. I grit my teeth and a bug gets blown into them. Gross. I glance up and see that the wind has brought some friends. As far as I can see, there are gray clouds completely covering the sky. Great, rain. The wind can ensure that the rain pummels us enough. Thanks a lot mother nature. And I thought we were friends.

The rain is soaking me already, even though most of my clothing is waterproof. All of a sudden, the wind picks up and small sapling is completely ripped out by its roots and blown towards me. I scramble out of the way and watch it crash into a huge, gnarled oak. I can't loose my footing. I'm not a sapling, but the wind is still getting stronger.

While I'm looking back at the tree, I notice something flying towards me out of the corner of my eye. To my absolute horror, its a little fox shaped creature no bigger than a skunk, but with huge front teeth that almost look like tusks. I'm sure I look completely terrified, and so does the animal. It's all I can do to stay in the same place, let alone move out of the way. It crashes into my chest and I'm forced to take a step backward. I try to reach up and fling it as far away as I can, even though its pretty cute if you ignore the tusks. Which, by the way are digging into my skin for dear life. It's like its trying to take a bite out of a Magali sandwhich. The teeth are so sharp that as I move it to my left, they rip through my jacket. I push even harder and it rips through the skin on my now uncovered arm. I cry out in pain. Small but deadly. With a last shove I push it off of me, and it takes a few pieces of skin with it. I don't look back to see its demise. I look down and discover that a fair sized cut has been left in my upper arm and is now bleeding like crazy. I can still move it though so that's good.

Branches are crashing down all around me. I see a squirrel that looks like its swinging through the branches like monkey above me. But not that far now. I still have a chance. I realize in horror that without me, Cayne probably won't need Urso. He probably only enlisted him as an ally to gain my trust. I try even harder. My braids are whipping around my head and the blood from my wound is splattering everywhere. I'm leaving an obvious trail. Not much I can do about that.

Eventually I huddle down in-between 3 trunks of a tree that start branching away close to the bottom, my spirit broken. It holds me inside like a cage. My cut feels like someones slowly opening my arm up with a knife and then putting needles in it. I try to cover it with cloth from my jacket and it helps a little. I pull my hood up and decide to wait it out. Well, I guess I won't have the challenge of ending my alliance with Cayne. The wind did it for me.


	11. Chapter 11 Wind

**Just so you know I changed the last chapter! The change is about how she got cut. I recommend going back and reading it since I might reference something that happened later on. **

After five minutes I'm shivering uncontrollably. I feel like a pathetic little wet cat out in a thunderstorm. Good thing the wind is keeping everyone else from moving too. I'd be dead for sure by now if anyone was out looking for tributes.

At least I have a little time to think. Like about how long this is going to take, the games. A week? A month? Three days? What if there are still people alive after a long time? Will President Cartwheeler kill all of us? I shiver. So many lives wasted- for nothing. Not even one district would have it good for a year. If I'm ever in that position I'd kill them. Unless it was Urso. I could never kill him. My best friend for so long. And he's from my district. I'd just let him win.

And then there's the arena. Where am I? Well, somewhere in the wilderness. But am I on a different continent? Or am I near District 2? Maybe I can escape. Just keep going and never look back. But what then? And they could have a giant fence like the one in District 4 so we can't escape. That would be a huge waste of time.

After a while, hunger wins out and I break down and eat the mushroom from Cayne's pack. I've been holding out on the squirrels because I don't know how long the wind could last. I'm kind of afraid that the mushroom will be poisonous, but then why would they put it in a pack at the Cornucopia? Because they want us to die. Whatever. I'm hungry.

It's surprisingly delicious, and I've never been one for mushrooms. Its tangy and smooth and surprisingly sweet.

Nothing happens immediately. Good, but maybe it will slowly destroy my organs or burn a hole in my intestines.

I take some time to remove the fur from the squirrels and cut them up. I simply throw the stuff I don't want into the wind. It will take it far enough away. I wrap the rest up in plastic wrap.

The plastic wrap has actually been very useful in collecting rain water. Its pouring so I'm not about to die of thirst. But going to the bathroom is kind of an ordeal. At least I've only had to go once. I've also got the pack itself, my knives, the squirrels, rope, some eatable plants, and the blanket.

I'd really like to have a water bottle and some iodine, not to mention some of my many medicines. But I've decided to just end the alliance. I'd rather not be in an alliance with Cayne. Plus I don't want to make the ending complicated, like Urso wanting me to stay and getting caught. And even though I don't want him to kill Urso, I know he's perfectly capable of protecting himself. He's not a baby. He's also not Fitch. I bite my symbolic tongue and tear up a bit. Also, a little guiltily, I don't want to be the one to kill him.

Some part of me wants to defy the rules of the Capitol. The rebel that's still alive. Funny, she should have died when District 13 blew up. But I know I'll never rebel against these games. The Capitol is just too strong. They could kill all of us right away. I wonder why they didn't. Instead they threw us in the wilderness and made us kill each other.

I guess it gives them a way to do it in front of the Capitol citizens and, I realize all of a sudden, separates the districts. During the rebellion we were strong together. They don't want that happening again. So maybe even just having an alliance with Cayne was a bit rebellious.

Suddenly, I realize how quiet it is. I glance around. The trees are no longer swaying. Branches aren't falling. I'm not as cold. Then I pinpoint the change. The wind has stopped. Just like that. In a second probably, even though I didn't realize right away. In the orange glow of the sunset, I can see how absolutely still it is.

Wow, this weather is weird. It's so unnatural. I've never been somewhere where its so windy you can't move one second, and then the next it's absolutely still.

All I can hear for ten minutes is the pitter patter of the rain. It's peaceful really. Then the birds start singing. I can hear them well because of the rain. Its like the sound of a train on a rainy day. They sound kind of echo-y. It's moist and darkening and altogether relaxing.

When I finally move, I take off my sweatshirt and tie it tightly around my wound since it's warmer now. Then I get up and walk quickly in the opposite direction I was traveling before. I'm trying to get as far away from Cayne before night as I can. My shoes squish in the damp earth silently. I realize how dead tired I am. That wind really wore me out, but at least I'm not as dirty as before.

My quick pace got me far enough, but I'll have to move quickly in the morning. I find an oak tree to sleep in. They're the best so far because a lot have a bunch of thick branches close together.

I flex my arms for a second and then start trying to climb the tree. The first three times I slide and/or fall down painfully. I manage to keep myself from swearing, which is new. Normally I can't help it. The last rays of sunlight are leaving the forest floor and the thought of deadly mutts motivates me.

Before I try for my fourth time, I remember I'll need water to live. I walk over a few trees and carve out a little hole Maybe it will make a puddle of drinkable water for me to drink if the rain stops. I don't know. This is the first time I've tried that. I've usually had pots or bowls.

I sprint back my tree and actually manage to get up before it gets really dark. My hands are full of dirt and are really scratched up and my arm's hurting where I got the gash, but I'm up. I find some nice sturdy forks, tie the satchel strap to a tree, tie myself to a branch, and snuggle down under my blanket for the night.

When its pitch black, I see the Capitol seal floating in the sky accompanied by the anthem. Some parts are blocked out by the leaves. I wonder how the seal just floats there. I have a horrible thought that maybe we're in a huge dome. But then I realize that would be pointless. We can't fly.

First up is a weak looking boy from District 3, then a girl who was actually really good at weapons from 9, and a girl from 10. The seal flashes again in the sky. That means fourteen of us are left. Ten are dead. We're almost at the halfway point. It kind of surprises me that some people who looked like they didn't stand a chance are still alive. But there are still people to look out for. And surprisingly, Urso's still alive. They probably think I'm coming back.

I forget about everything pretty quickly and fall into a deep, relaxing sleep. The last things I hear are the fall of heavy raindrops, a chorus of insects, and a hair-raising howl somewhere far away in the night.

**Once again review! I love constructive criticism!**


	12. Chapter 12 Flowers

I raise my knife up to Urso's throat and before I can do it, my eyes flicker open. It's not raining anymore. I groan and roll over, but I don't try to go back to sleep. For the whole night, I've been having the same dream over and over again. Of killing Urso. It symbolizes how much I don't want to kill him. Really kill anyone for that matter. Too bad I already have.

This reminds me how I left my alliance with Cayne and Urso yesterday. My eyes flicker open and quicker than I've ever gotten out of bed in my life, I'm climbing/falling out of the tree with my bundled up blanket. I quickly stuff it in my pack and run to my water hole.

To my disappointment, most of the dirt filled in the hole and I'm left with a less-than-satisfactory amount of water. But it's better than nothing so I scoop up as much as I can and make a mental note to find a water source today. It tastes like mud and I try not to think about how many diseases I could be getting. I eat some squirrel, and set off.

Its still pretty damp, so my footsteps can't be heard as I walk. I see a couple jabberjays, but none of them say anything. It's been about an hour and I'm just thinking how peaceful it is when I notice it _is _peaceful, especially since it's gone completely silent. I look up and see a jabberjay on a branch. It gives a warning call and flits off to some nice little hiding place.

And then I see it. It hasn't noticed me yet. Probably ten feet tall, with huge teeth bared, and claws each a foot long. It looks like a mixture of a bear and a bull. A bull body, with all the lethal weapons mother nature gave the bear. Its head is shaped like the bear, but without the shaggy fur. There aren't any horns and it has big paws covered in long, brown fur. I freeze in terror.

It's sniffing its way towards me through the woods. I gather up enough courage to put my back to a tree and fix my knife. The rough bark is pressed into my bare shoulders. My muscles are tensed up. I close my eyes and can almost imagine the animal slowly ambling its way towards me. I don't know whether I should stay put or run away. Who knows what extraordinary skills the scientists gave the bear-bull? My eyes flick open and I silently pray that this will turn out all right.

Just as I'm beginning to think that maybe its gone away, I feel warm air on my neck. I forget how to breath for a moment and my heart skips a beat. I slowly turn my head towards it and my nose almost runs into a black, velvety one that's huge, almost the size of a grapefruit. The smell is horrendous; like fish and garbage. I make a face and almost toss my cookies.

I'm completely ready to die now. Any second. Either from the smell or the claws. I'm not moving. It's not moving. There's not a sound.

Then the beast lets out a huge roar. And I'm a hundred percent sure its the bear-bull because the smell has tripled in strength. The roar is so loud and harsh that I have to cover up my ears in pain.

When it stops I feel a shudder in the tree I'm up against and stumble out of the way, still a bit dazed. The whole tree comes down. Just like that. And it was a fair-sized tree too. The mutt ripped it out of the ground just as easy as if it were a daisy. I dive to my left, and just in time. The tree crashes to the ground right next to me. I see the mutt's fierce eyes that seem to be filled with fire. It gives a snort and paws the ground.

This time, it's not even a decision. I just run. My legs go faster than I can ever remember them going. I can hear the pounding of the bear-bull's paws behind me. I risk a glance back and see that it is a fair distance behind. Not like its going to stay back there for long. As I look back, I trip over a rock and take a face full of mud. Yuck. I jump to my feet and sprint as fast as I can.

Its chasing me downhill. Maybe I'll find water. The bear-bull lets loose an earsplitting shriek and all thoughts of anything that isn't sprinting for my life are shaken from my mind. The soft ground is slippery and makes it hard for running, but my shoes somehow find some grip in the mud. I'm in denser forest now. With trees all crammed up close together and a lot of plants. Sharp branches are giving me a lot of scratches. Everything's whipping in my face and it's altogether very hard to see. You'd think this kind of stuff would slow down the bear-bull, but no. It has to be so fast and strong that it can just toss all the trees out of its way.

Although, I must be pretty fast to be faster than this muttation. But maybe strength is more its thing. Or maybe the Gamemakers have a way of controlling it. Maybe that means it won't kill me?

The thicket suddenly ends and I'm in a field full to the brim with pretty purple flowers. There is a little creek that winds through and a huge tree in the middle. As I run closer to the tree I notice how huge it really is. Three people couldn't get their arms around the trunk. And there are so many branches, lying down in them would feel like a real bed. I can't hear the bear-bull anymore, but I don't stop until I've reached the tree. There is no way the mutt would be able to rip this out of the ground.

I stand there panting, waiting for it to burst out of the trees into the meadow. I grasp an imperfection in the tree's bark so I don't keel over and die of exhaustion. Sweat is dripping down my face and my arm isn't feeling particularly well. I notice a little grouping of trees to my far left in the edge of the middle of the meadow. They look pretty far away, but still better cover for staying the night.

I look at the thicket for an hour probably, convinced it's coming, but from a perch high up in the big, lonely tree. To my delight, a parachute lands softly in my lap. It's a water bottle. A fancy plastic one with a nice screw-on top. My first sponsor gift since I split with my allies. I sip some water and continue to watch the woods.


	13. Chapter 13 Knives

**Please review and give constructive criticism!**

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Ugh. This is taking forever. I'm army-crawling my way through the field of purple flowers and I have been for a while. My destination is the bigger clump of huge trees and I'd rather not go back in the thicket for fear of the bear-bull and more scratches. I'm crawling because I'd be a sitting duck for any armed person in the forest if I stood up. This meadow is huge. I did make it to the brook and I filled up my water bottle and managed to skewer two fish, clean them up a bit, and ate one of them. I should cook the squirrels soon.

The midday sun is beating down on my back and I'm sweating. I take a sip of my water and rest for a minute on my back. The sky is a bright blue and perfectly cloudless. It's so peaceful.

"_I hate cloudless skies." Fitch is looking up at the sky with me. Just watching the world go by._

"_Why?" I ask. "You get a good tan." He rolls his eyes. "Plus it seems like the world pauses. When there are clouds, they speed by and remind you about rushing around and that time is being wasted."_

"_I like rain," he says. "It's so mysterious, and everything is sharper. Besides you can't watch the world go by when time is paused. Isn't that what we're supposed to be doing?" I laugh and tousle his sandy hair._

The memory makes me stop short of bringing the water all the way to my dry, cracked lips. I sit there a bit more. Just staring at the sky. Then I put the bottle back in my satchel and start crawling again.

When I'm finally getting close to the trees, I hear a sound. It sounds like a moaning animal. I'm kind of scared it's another bear-bull so I army-crawl my way to a huge tree and slowly, very slowly, stand up. It's easy to stay behind it. The trunk is more than three times bigger than me. The moaning stops for a second and I'm scared whatever it is has heard me. Then it starts up again and I manage to suppress a sigh of relief.

I can't just stand here behind this tree. I have to look and see what's making the sound. Even if I don't like it. I can't hide from it in this field. I find enough courage to get down on my stomach and look out over some huge exposed roots. I find that all of the trees are as big as mine and have the big, spidery roots. There's a little clearing not too far away from me and I can tell the moaning is coming from there. I look a bit closer and find that there is something there. I can't quite tell what it is though. It looks pretty small and like its just lying there.

I have to get closer. I don't know if sprinting from tree to tree is the best idea or if I should just army crawl. I think it over for a second. These trees are too far apart. I'm going to crawl. I start crawling, smushing purple flowers as I go. I don't think it's noticed me. These big roots give pretty good cover. I stop to rest at each tree and zig-zag my way to the clearing. When I get to the final tree, I stand as slowly as I possibly can and wait. The moaning stops.

I take a deep breath and look warily at the thing. I can tell my face registers surprise, because there, in the little clearing, is none other than Patin, the small girl from training. I quickly make my face into an unreadable mask and notice that her right arm has a huge gash that's much bigger than mine. I can also see that her right hand looks like it's been smashed with something. It's bloody and gross and bleeding like crazy. No wonder she's moaning.

She's noticed me. Her eyes make contact with mine and I step forward a little. Should I kill her? Or try to save her? My eyes go back and forth between my knife and Patin. Before I can decide she shakes her head slowly and moans "Noooo." No what?

Before I can say anything, a spear is flying towards me from the treetops. My fast reflexes save me, but it grazes my shoulder and I'm left with a small cut. I look to where it came from and see a figure jump from a tree. I wonder who it is, but really, I already know the answer.

The figure runs at me and tackles me just as I raise my knife. I hold Beam's wrists about a foot from my face. In his hand is a knife with intricate patterns carved into the metal. He holds my wrists and my knife the same distance from his face. He looks so much different from the scared boy from training. Wild eyes and a scary smile. Was he always like this?

My arms are shaking now. I grit my teeth. He's pretty strong, but I'm holding my own.

"So your friend Urso," says Beam as if he's holding a normal conversation. "We ran into him today." I don't respond. "I chopped off his head." Beam gives a maniac laugh and I fight even harder. It can't really be true, can it? Beam and Patin against Urso and Cayne? But it still makes me angry. In a rush of adrenaline I push Beam off me and jump to my feet. He jumps up just as fast and I take a swipe at him but he dodges it at the last second.

I keep the knife in my hand instead of throwing it. Where would I be if he dodged my throw?

We're in the clearing blocking and dodging each other's swipes and about ten feet away from Patin. She's not moaning anymore, but she's still alive. I make a careless stab towards his unarmed side and his right hand quickly shoots up towards my head, but I duck and strike back. He pushes me towards the edge of the clearing and I dodge some roots as the knife nears my right side. They look very easy to trip over. Hold on a second. Very easy to trip over! I have a plan.

He kicks at me with his leg just as he stabs with his knife, but I anticipate it and easily dodge them. I push him towards the trees. I keep advancing and we're almost there. He backs up a couple more steps and trips over the huge roots of a tree. The look on his face is so shocked I would laugh if I weren't about to kill him. He makes big circles with his arms, trying to regain his balance. I easily disarm him and just as his body hits the ground I stab his heart. I rip my knife out and stab again just to make sure I kill him. His eyes glaze over and the cannon sounds. He's done. Well I did get a ten in training. I smile.

I clean off my knife with my shirt and walk away from Beam's body so the hovercraft can get it. I see the metal claws grab his corpse and put him into its metal belly. So long Beam. I'm oddly satisfied and again, I smile.


	14. Chapter 14 Cannons

**Yay! Finally a new chapter! Sorry about that long wait guys. So, once again, review!**

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"You saved me." An awkward silence fills our little clearing. Patin doesn't say anything.

I've just finished washing off Patin's wounds as best I could. I'm shivering because my sweatshirt is now torn in half, with one side tied tightly around her right arm's gash and the other around her smashed hand. I used the sweatshirt string to make a sling and used the blanket to pad the back of her neck. It's pretty warm so we won't be needing it anytime soon. She may be in a lot of pain, but she's not about to die.

After I killed Beam I went right to work in patching her up. We didn't talk. The only questions were things like, "Do you have a pack?" and, "How long have you been bleeding?" They taught us how to fix people during the rebellion. I might not be the best, but I can do a lot with limited supplies. I remember how Urso was horrible at this. I wonder how he's doing. I push the though aside.

I quickly change the subject, because this obviously makes her uncomfortable. "You look better." This is true. She's sitting up and looks a lot less pale. I fumble for my water bottle. "You're probably thirsty." I hold it out for her. She drinks at least half and then hands it back.

"I didn't save you," she says slowly. I start to object, but she finishes before I can say anything. "Your reflexes did. You have good reflexes." Her eyes aren't as wary as they were at training.

"Thanks, but yeah, you did save me. If you hadn't warned me, I wouldn't have been ready for that spear Beam threw." She nods. She doesn't seem up to an argument, and frankly, neither am I. "What happened to him anyway?"

"He was like that the whole time." That's all she says.

"Like what? Crazy?" I say with a hint of a smile.

"Yeah, he was trying to fool me into thinking our alliance would last. I could tell he was going to get me. But he beat me to the kill. Or injury I guess." She pauses. "I don't really know why he was crazy. Maybe something in the rebellion or just the thought of the Games." She gives a shrug.

We don't talk about it anymore. It really unnerves me. Just the thought of not being in control of my own thoughts makes me shiver. No reasoning behind anything. I could kill my own family if I ended up like Beam. Surely he wasn't like that before. No, nobody's like that unless they have some sort of disease they're born with.

"So you guys just left the Cornucopia first thing?" I ask as I sip some water.

"Our plates were pretty close so we left together," she says. Obviously she doesn't want to tell me more. I don't blame her. If she hadn't warned me about Beam and if there was no honor code from the rebellion I can't shake without feeling guilty, I'd probably stab her in her sleep. Well, I'd wait and see if she was useful first. I guess I'm not the most trustworthy type. I mean, this is the Hunger Games, not a competition for the Nice Awards. I want to be able to see District 4 again, to enjoy another day in a boat, and most of all, to show my district that not all hope is lost. That we can still be okay.

We decide that we should probably be moving on, and since we've only got my little satchel, it doesn't take long to pack up. I grab Beam's spear and knife, and Patin tells me that the knife was hers. She traces her finger along a line in the intricate pattern carved on the blade and the little knife extends into a full length sword.

"Woah," I say.

"Yeah pretty cool, isn't it?" she asks, but really I'm thinking about how easily Beam could've killed me during our fight. "We had one during the rebellion, so that's how I know how to use it."

"I guess Beam didn't," I say.

She gives me a weird look and says, "Well, obviously, or he would have cut you to pieces."

"Yeah," I say. I guess District 1 doesn't know about sarcasm.

We eat a chunk of fish each and I tell her to remind me about cooking the squirrels later. This isn't the time and definitely is not the place to do that.

The walk through our little clump of trees is short and silent. I take my first step from the roots onto grass, and suddenly hear a cannon sound. My first thought is that it sounds really close and the killer could be upon us in seconds.

I grab Patin's good hand and say, "Come on! We need to get out of here!" She doesn't argue, but as we run, too many cannons fire to count. I stop at ten and they come so quickly. There are only thirteen people left. Are they killing all of us off? I stop abruptly and turn to Patin. The cannons stop.

"What's going on?" I ask angrily. I'm frustrated. I don't want to die right now!

Patin bites her lip and quietly says, "I don't know."

"Are they killing all of us? Will no one win? I don't get it!" And that's when I start pacing. The cannons start again.

"Stop!" Patin orders me. The cannons stop. "Now take a step." I take one step. BOOM! Then I take two more. BOOM BOOM! I look up and smile. I'm so relieved. But Patin's face is as grim as before, and I'm thinking it's the pain until she says, "We have to run!" This confuses me. I'm caught up in realizing that we're not all going to die just yet. "Everyone knows where we are!" she explains as she grabs my hand and we begin running again. The cannons keep firing until we are off the grass and into the woods. But we still keep running. And running. And running.

Until we finally stop. We're panting, but not sweating so much because the temperature is dropping.

"Cook the squirrels," Patin tells me. I realize that she _is_ useful and I have quickly lost my spot as the leader of this alliance.

We gather wood, and it takes forever to light it since it's wet. We cook the squirrels and put them back my satchel. We eat half of the rest of the fish, since it will go bad pretty soon.

I spot mushrooms that look like the one from the satchel and almost rip it right out of the ground the moment I see it, as I remember how good it was. Patin stops me and tells me to look at it again just to make sure. I do and notice some very faint red spots the other certainly did not have. I silently curse the mushrooms for making me look like an idiot in front of my ally.

In the sky that night is only Beam. I hear a howl come from somewhere out there in the dark, and think its good that Patin can't climb without my help. I can just toss her to the mutts if she decides to turn on me.


	15. Chapter 15 Tears

"Wake up sunshine!" I just roll groan, rollover, and almost fall out of the tree. Patin's strong grip saves me just in time.

"Try to be more careful," she says.

"I will," I say, but I can't keep the sarcasm out of my voice. I bite my tongue to teach my brain a lesson. I have to be more careful. Thinking she'll turn on me could just make her want to turn on me even more. _Besides_, I think, _she was just warning me_. "Sorry," I say. "Not a morning person," and give a smile.

As we eat the rest of the fish, I try to think of a way to bring up age without sounding ungrateful. It would bother me if she was only 14 years old.

I get me chance as we're just finishing up. "This is feeling longer than the rebellion," she says with a sigh.

"Yeah, I know," I say, licking my fingers for extra nutrients. "It's been what? Four days? And I fought for six years since I was eleven." I look at her expectantly.

"Me too. But since I was ten." 16. Man, she's short for being Urso's age.

After eating, we try to remember who's left in these Games.

"District 5 and District 12," I say. "Those are the Districts out for good." Patin crosses out the 12 and 5 drawn in the dirt.

"So the Districts with both tributes left are 7, 8, and 4," she says, circling the numbers.

"Yes, and then we have the boys from 6, that's Cayne, 9, and 10 left too." I write boy next to each district. "The girls left are you, from 1, 2, 3, and 11." I write girl next to each.

"The girl from 2 is named Dabnet," says Patin. "She's really good at archery, but horrible at knives." I raise my eyebrows at her knowledge. "We talked during training," she explains.

"The boy from 8 is Hugo. He's with the girl and may be injured." I feel Patin's questioning gaze and continue, "I heard a jabberjay. Something about mutts and he was groaning a lot. I can confirm the mutts."

"What about Urso? And Cayne. You seem to know about him." I feel my cheeks heat up and hope Patin didn't see my moment of weakness.

I lie, "Urso's good at swords." She doesn't look suspicious so I gather she didn't see him in training. "Cayne's pretty good with knives." It's obvious why I lied about Urso, but Cayne? Why would I want to protect the very person who scared me so much I deserted him? Patin probably saw him doing great at archery in training anyway.

"So, the people we don't know much about are the District 3 girl," I shrug, "District 7s," nothing there, "8, boys from 9 and 10, and girl from 11. They must be good at some weapon for making it this long."

"Yeah," I say, "or hiding."

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_A bright blue sky. Sun shining off the calm rippling water. Boat rocking. Left, right, left, right.-_

"Did you hear something?" Patin jerks me back to real life from my daydream.

"No," I say, and adjust my spear. "Let's climb," I whisper.

"No," she says shaking her head. "It'll take too long." She points to her beat up arm. I nod.

We wait, on the alert with our backs to trees about five feet apart. I catch only a few sounds at first. The wind in the trees, my breathing. The longer it is, the more I can hear until I can make out soft footsteps. The steps of someone slinking around. It's coming from behind us, but not too far away. Maybe they haven't even seen us yet.

I glance at Patin, and she mouths the words, "Get ready." I don't dare breathe.

I hear the footsteps getting closer and closer, and then Patin gives the signal to go.

We jump out from behind the trees pointing our weapons at a little girl with dark skin. She's not armed, but I wonder if she has allies.

Patin quickly traps the girl by holding her sword close to the girl's neck. I point my spear at her heart. She looks absolutely terrified, and I can't help feeling sorry for her. But I hide it the best I can.

"District 11?" I ask harshly to intimidate her even more.

The girl starts to shake and tears well up in her eyes. "Yes," she says in a trembling voice. "Please don't kill me! I swear I'll help you!"

"What can you do?" Patin asks. She tightens her grip on the girl.

"I-I can shoot," she whimpers.

"What good is that if neither you or us have a bow? Let alone arrows!" I say. As I say it, it strikes me how cold and heartless I sound.

"I d-don't know!" she says and begins to cry. "Goodbye mother! Take care, Plum! Your big sister Bran loves you!" I open my mouth to tell Patin to kill her, but nothing comes out. A tear falls from eye but I quickly erase the evidence.

"Do it," I say flatly. Patin brings the sword across Bran's throat, and the little girl falls limply to the ground as her cannon sounds. Patin gives me a look and I can tell she feels the same as me.

"I can't-" she starts.

"The cameras," I interrupt. It's the first time in a very long time I've thought about me being on national TV. I wish I could go somewhere with no cameras to cry, but there is no place like that. No place but my head to say how I actually feel about today's events. Well here it is: I feel sick. Me and my ally just killed a little girl, maybe 12 or 13, without much hesitation. Beam was one thing, but a crying little girl? I'm despicable.

**Wow, I've been updating a lot. It's because none of the fanfics I'm reading have been updated, so I don't read other things before I start writing and start thinking that their fics are so much better. Anyhoo, I NEED SOME MORE REVIEWS! I know I say it every chaptahr, but you guys are skimping out on me. PLEASE. And how do you guys feel about me doing some other POVs? Just cause your not getting anything else that's happening during these games. But on the other hand, (fiddler on the roof, haha, if you've seen it you know what I mean) you understand how Mags feels being so cut off from everything. Leave a review and tell me :)**


	16. Chapter 16 Reunion

We saw Bran in the sky last night. I don't really think about how I barely knew her and yet I feel so crushed by her death.

So here we are now. Me, sharpening my spear, knifes, and Patin's extendo-sword. Patin's just trying to get through the day. Her teeth are gritted and her eyes shut tight. I sigh. Patin gives me a look.

We could really use some medicine right now, Grig. _I need medicine for the headache your tone just gave me!_ I imagine in my head. Put a sock in it Grig. I smile.

"All sharpened," I say. She opens one eye and gingerly picks up her sword. She gives a nod and runs her finger down the line. It shrinks back to knife size. I don't expect her to say anything. I think the pain's getting worse, which could mean a lot of really bad things. My own injury is getting a lot better I guess. There's a very itchy scab on it right now and I'm fighting the urge to scratch.

"I'm going to hunt." She nods. "Can you stay on your own?" I'm just asking to be nice. I already know her answer. She nods again. I stand up and brush the dirt off my back side. "Be back soon."

By the time I've gotten a squirrel and one of the kind of mutt that tried to eat my arm, it starts raining- again. The water makes my scab even itchier and I give in to the temptation. I'm really hoping the wind thing won't happen again, so I jog back to Patin.

When I get to where she was nobody's there. I check to make sure I'm in the right place and I definitely am. I see the remains of our list of tributes we made in the dirt yesterday. This isn't right.

I adjust my spear and drop the meat. "Patin?" I whisper. No answer. "Patin!" I say a little louder. For a while there's just silence. I shift my feet. Did she really leave me? After all that? I would believe it if she wasn't handicapped. Maybe she ran off with another ally.

Just as I'm about to call her name again, a person steps out of the shadows.

"Where's Patin?" I say as fearlessly as I can. The person's face is still shrouded in shadow, but they're bulky and muscular.

Then they step forward, and there's Urso with a knife up against Patin's throat and a shocked look on his face. I drop my spear.

"Urso!" I laugh.

He all but drops Patin on the ground as I sprint into his arms.

"I can't believe it's really you!" I say.

"Mags!" he says, "She told me she was allies with you, but I didn't believe her! I'm glad I waited to kill her." I see pick herself up and brush off the dirt with a stony expression out of the corner of my eye.

We stand like that for a while until we finally end our embrace. I notice Urso's many fish bites from the blood bath are either gone or scabbed over. I scratch my scab and feel very sorry for him.

"Where's Cayne?" I ask.

"After you left, there really wasn't any reason we wanted to be allies." I nod. I see why. Probably the two biggest boys in the arena is a great alliance. If you like each other. "So we just decided to call it quits and not kill each other just because the President feels like it." He turns to Patin. "So who's this?"

"Patin. She's a District 1. She was allies with Beam and he tried to kill both of us, but she saved me and I saved her." The two awkwardly shake hands.

"Welcome to the alliance," she says.

"She's the same age as you," I blurt out. I don't know why I said that. I guess so there aren't any hard feelings?

"That's cool," says Urso.

"I guess I'm going to have to do some more hunting," I say with a smile.


End file.
